National Anthem of Scotland
Encyclopedia
There is no official national anthem
of Scotland
. However, a number of songs are used as de facto
Scottish anthems, most notably Flower of Scotland
and Scotland the Brave
. God Save the Queen
is the national anthem for the United Kingdom
as a whole and is used in Scotland in that context.
In 2004, lawyers for the devolved
Scottish Parliament
advised that it was within the legal competence of the Scottish Parliament to choose a national anthem for Scotland, countering the suggestion that it would be a matter reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom
. This ruling prompted some interest in the idea, and a petition
to the Scottish Parliament's petitions committee supported by the Scottish Green Party
was referred without recommendation to the Scottish Executive
who chose to take no action, considering the issue not to be a political priority. There have been subsequent attempts to re-open the debate on a national anthem for Scotland.
and the Scottish rugby union team
. The song will also be used as the victory anthem of Scotland at the Commonwealth Games
in 2010, replacing Scotland the Brave
.
conducted an online opinion poll on their website, asking visitors to choose a favourite to be Scotland's national anthem. With over 10,000 votes cast, "Flower of Scotland" came first with 41% of the votes, followed by "Scotland the Brave" with 29%.
Other songs which have been suggested include Robert Burns
' "Auld Lang Syne
", and Hamish Henderson
's "Freedom Come-All-Ye
". Both of these songs, from the 18th and 20th centuries respectively, are written in Lowland Scots
.
newspaper, the Scottish Parliament
has yet to convene any parliamentary debate on the issue, with Holyrood's Enterprise Committee denying a motion from Scottish National Party MSP Michael Matheson
on the subject.
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. However, a number of songs are used as de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
Scottish anthems, most notably Flower of Scotland
Flower of Scotland
Flower of Scotland is a Scottish song, used frequently at special occasions and sporting events. Although there is no official national anthem of Scotland, Flower of Scotland is one of a number of songs which unofficially fulfil this role, along with the older Scots Wha Hae, Scotland the Brave...
and Scotland the Brave
Scotland the Brave
"Scotland the Brave" is a Scottish patriotic song. It was one of several songs considered an unofficial national anthem of Scotland.Scotland the Brave is also the authorised pipe band march of The British Columbia Dragoons of the Canadian Forces, and is played during the Pass in Review at Friday...
. God Save the Queen
God Save the Queen
"God Save the Queen" is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms and British Crown Dependencies. The words of the song, like its title, are adapted to the gender of the current monarch, with "King" replacing "Queen", "he" replacing "she", and so forth, when a king reigns...
is the national anthem for the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as a whole and is used in Scotland in that context.
In 2004, lawyers for the devolved
Devolution
Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...
Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
advised that it was within the legal competence of the Scottish Parliament to choose a national anthem for Scotland, countering the suggestion that it would be a matter reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. This ruling prompted some interest in the idea, and a petition
Petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....
to the Scottish Parliament's petitions committee supported by the Scottish Green Party
Scottish Green Party
The Scottish Green Party is a green party in Scotland. It has two MSPs in the devolved Scottish Parliament, Alison Johnstone, representing Lothian, and Patrick Harvie, for Glasgow.-Organisation:...
was referred without recommendation to the Scottish Executive
Scottish Executive
The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...
who chose to take no action, considering the issue not to be a political priority. There have been subsequent attempts to re-open the debate on a national anthem for Scotland.
Current use
For most international sporting events Scotland uses "Flower of Scotland" as its national anthem. These events include matches of the Scottish national football teamScotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
and the Scottish rugby union team
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
. The song will also be used as the victory anthem of Scotland at the Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
in 2010, replacing Scotland the Brave
Scotland the Brave
"Scotland the Brave" is a Scottish patriotic song. It was one of several songs considered an unofficial national anthem of Scotland.Scotland the Brave is also the authorised pipe band march of The British Columbia Dragoons of the Canadian Forces, and is played during the Pass in Review at Friday...
.
Possible candidates
In June 2006 the Royal Scottish National OrchestraRoyal Scottish National Orchestra
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra is Scotland's national symphony orchestra. Based in Glasgow, the 89-member professional orchestra also regularly performs in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee, and abroad. Formed in 1891 as the Scottish Orchestra, the company has performed full-time since 1950,...
conducted an online opinion poll on their website, asking visitors to choose a favourite to be Scotland's national anthem. With over 10,000 votes cast, "Flower of Scotland" came first with 41% of the votes, followed by "Scotland the Brave" with 29%.
| Tune | Votes (%) |
|---|---|
| "Flower of Scotland Flower of Scotland Flower of Scotland is a Scottish song, used frequently at special occasions and sporting events. Although there is no official national anthem of Scotland, Flower of Scotland is one of a number of songs which unofficially fulfil this role, along with the older Scots Wha Hae, Scotland the Brave... " |
41% |
| "Scotland the Brave Scotland the Brave "Scotland the Brave" is a Scottish patriotic song. It was one of several songs considered an unofficial national anthem of Scotland.Scotland the Brave is also the authorised pipe band march of The British Columbia Dragoons of the Canadian Forces, and is played during the Pass in Review at Friday... " |
29% |
| "Highland Cathedral Highland Cathedral Highland Cathedral is a popular melody for the great highland bagpipe.This melody was composed by German musicians Ulrich Roever and Michael Korb in 1982 for a Highland games held in Germany. It has been proposed as the Scottish national anthem to replace unofficial anthems Scotland the Brave... " |
16% |
| "A Man's A Man for A' That A Man's A Man for A' That "Is There for Honest Poverty", commonly known as "A Man's a Man for A' That", is a 1795 Scots song by Robert Burns, famous for its expression of egalitarian ideas of society, which may be seen as anticipating the ideas of liberalism that arose in the 18th century, and those of socialism which arose... " |
7% |
| "Scots Wha Hae Scots Wha Hae Scots Wha Hae is a patriotic song of Scotland which served for centuries as an unofficial national anthem of the country, but has lately been largely supplanted by Scotland the Brave and Flower of Scotland.... " |
6% |
Other songs which have been suggested include Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
' "Auld Lang Syne
Auld Lang Syne
"Auld Lang Syne" is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song . It is well known in many countries, especially in the English-speaking world; its traditional use being to celebrate the start of the New Year at the stroke of midnight...
", and Hamish Henderson
Hamish Henderson
Hamish Scott Henderson, was a Scottish poet, songwriter, soldier, and intellectual....
's "Freedom Come-All-Ye
Freedom Come-All-Ye
"Freedom Come-All-Ye" is a song written by Hamish Henderson, the Scottish poet, songwriter, and intellectual. It is written in the Scots Language. "Freedom Come-All-Ye", one of Henderson's most important songs, gives a non-romantic, revisionist view of the role of the Scots in the world at the...
". Both of these songs, from the 18th and 20th centuries respectively, are written in Lowland Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
.
Future discussion
Despite coverage by The ScotsmanThe Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
newspaper, the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
has yet to convene any parliamentary debate on the issue, with Holyrood's Enterprise Committee denying a motion from Scottish National Party MSP Michael Matheson
Michael Matheson
Michael Matheson is the Public Health Minister in the Scottish Government. He has been an SNP Member of the Scottish Parliament since 1999, first representing Central Scotland and, since 2007, the Falkirk West constituency....
on the subject.